Sputum is the secretion produced by everyone's respiratory tract. Whether it is a healthy person or a patient, there will be sputum. When people are infected by respiratory diseases or invaded by microorganisms , people will produce a large amount of sputum and excrete bacteria . There are thousands of pathogens in the sputum, which can spread measles , influenza, tuberculosis and so on.
Some people have a dry cough when they cough, some people cough up phlegm, some people cough up yellow phlegm, and some people cough up white phlegm. What is going on?
What are the consequences if you swallow phlegm accidentally?
When phlegm is swallowed into the stomach, some bacteria will be eliminated, but some bacteria will still survive, which often causes intestinal diseases and should be treated in time.
Sputum is a pathological product, mainly a liquid secreted by the respiratory tract, also known as sputum. Its components include mucus, foreign matter, pathogenic microorganisms , various inflammatory cells , damaged and shed mucosal epithelial cells, etc. The body can improve existing symptoms by clearing phlegm from the body. However, the behavior of swallowing phlegm is exactly the opposite, which is not conducive to the treatment of the disease and may aggravate the disease.
Because sputum may contain thousands of pathogenic microorganisms, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis , cold viruses, measles viruses, etc. Although a small number of bacteria in the intestines are easily killed, some bacteria are still alive and can enter the intestines and cause intestinal diseases. If there is Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the sputum, it may also cause intestinal tuberculosis . In addition, sputum can spread SARS, tuberculosis, influenza, measles, etc.
It is generally better to spit out phlegm. Avoid excessive swallowing of phlegm. If you spit anywhere, it may cause others to become sick by inhaling pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, when there is phlegm in the throat, do not spit anywhere.
How is phlegm formed?
The production of phlegm is mainly related to the lungs and spleen. The lungs govern breathing and regulate the entry, exit, and rise and fall of Zongqi (vital energy). If the lungs fail to purify and descend, coughing, wheezing, and uneven sleeping may occur. When wind evil or cold evil invades the lungs, the body fluid in the lungs condenses into phlegm.
The spleen is responsible for transportation and transformation, that is, digestion and transportation of nutrients to various organs. If dampness invades the human body, or excessive thinking, fatigue, and improper diet can damage the spleen and cause it to lose its function of transportation and transformation, causing water and dampness to stop condensing and form phlegm.
Due to the decline in the function of the human spleen in transporting water and moisture, or the water in the body encounters obstacles in the circulation and excretion process, the water cannot moisturize the human body normally, but will form abnormal accumulation in the body and become a pathological substance.
This kind of abnormal accumulation of water is called "phlegm and phlegm" in traditional Chinese medicine. The turbid, sticky and thick part is called "phlegm", and the thin, clear and transparent part is called "drink".
Therefore, "phlegm", in addition to the phlegm that is produced in the lungs, excreted from the body through coughing, and can be seen by us, also includes pathological products that are produced due to water metabolism disorders and are characterized by turbidity, viscosity, and thickness.
Yellow phlegm is hot and white phlegm is cold? Doctors remind: Pay attention to lung health if you cough up type 4 phlegm.
Some people will cough up yellow phlegm when they wake up in the morning, but these people are relatively healthy. This is because the phlegm stays in the body for a long time, which is a normal phenomenon. Although the sputum coughed up now is yellow, it is relatively thin, and there is no sign of thirst and red tongue. This does not prove that the yellow sputum belongs to heat syndrome, but may also be caused by cold syndrome.
There are also some people whose sputum is white but relatively sticky, making it difficult to cough up and accompanied by red tongue. This may be caused by fever.
There is often a saying in life that "yellow phlegm is hot and white phlegm is cold". In fact, phlegm is not that simple. When the color of sputum changes in the following four ways, you need to pay more attention to your physical health.
, black sputum
People who smoke for a long time or are addicted to cigarettes have a much higher cough frequency than normal people. Moreover, the sputum of normal people is transparent, but the sputum of these smokers is black and sticky. This color means that the environment inside the lungs is already bad and full of toxins and impurities. If you don’t quit smoking, the probability of lung disease will be even greater. For good health, it is very necessary to quit smoking.
, blood in sputum
Respiratory tract As the most important respiratory system of the human body, the lungs, as the most important respiratory organ of the human body, maintain the alternation of oxygen and carbon dioxide . The normal operation of the body is maintained through reasonable breathing. Once the body develops certain pathological changes or chronic diseases, some cough symptoms will appear. This is also a distress signal sent by the lungs to the human body.
When coughing, some patients will have blood in their sputum. This must be observed in a timely manner at the hospital, because coughing and coughing up blood is caused by inflammation in the upper respiratory tract or mouth. The human lungs have been damaged or stimulated to a certain extent. When this situation is serious, it is likely to induce cancer cells.
3. Yellow or green sputum
If the coughed up sputum is found to be yellow or green, it means there is purulent inflammation in the lungs. The yellow-green color is a thick sputum that occurs when purulent bacteria , such as Staphylococcus , Streptococcus , etc., infect the human body. The appearance of this kind of sputum indicates that the infection has become more serious, so attention should be paid to it and active treatment should be given.
4, white sputum
Under normal operation, everyone will be infected by some small microorganisms and germs in the outside air. When these germs and bacteria enter the lungs, they will cause some inflammation in the lungs, which will cause people to cough.
What are the methods for eliminating phlegm?
. Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and spicy food.
Eat some foods that can reduce phlegm, relieve cough, moisten the lungs and promote fluid production. Use dietary therapy to eliminate phlegm, such as Tremella , apricots, pears, loquats, persimmons, etc. In addition, folk remedies such as rock sugar snow pear and loquat paste are also effective in eliminating phlegm.
. For drug treatment
, you can choose drugs that have the effects of relieving cough and asthma, eliminating phlegm and relieving the lungs. Drugs such as cough and expectorant granules, expectorant and asthma tablets, Jubei cough and expectorant tablets, etc. can be carried out in a regular hospital for face-to-face consultation. Based on the patient's actual symptoms, combined with atomization treatment, antibiotics , bronchodilator and other drugs for comprehensive treatment.
. Press the nose and throat bones
If you often have a lot of phlegm, you can use massage in your daily life, which can greatly alleviate the phenomenon of excessive phlegm.
The method is very simple. Press the sides of the nose up and down with your thumbs. After pressing the nose, you can gently massage the throat area with your palms. The massage time does not need to be too long, just keep it for two minutes.
This massage method can promote blood circulation, and at the same time, it can better metabolize bacteria in the throat and nasal cavity out of the body, and can also relieve various discomfort symptoms.
. Passive expectoration
For example, patients with bronchiectasis , which is common in the respiratory system, have clinical symptoms of repeated coughing and expectoration . For patients whose coughing ability has declined, postural drainage can be adopted, such as head-down and back-bending postures and physical vibration phlegm elimination.
